Men's Golf Headline

Sunday February 27, 2011Florida in Fifth After Round One of John Hayt Invitational

Sophomore
Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) led the No. 3 Florida men’s golf team to a
fifth-place finish after day one and round one on Sunday at the John Hayt
Invitational in Ponte Vedra, Fla.

Choi
made three birdies, one bogey and an eagle on the 18th hole to shoot
four-under par for a score of 68.

The
Gators trail three SEC foes in Auburn (tied for first with TCU), LSU (third)
Arkansas (fourth). As a team, UF shot two-under par for a score of 286, only
four strokes behind leaders Auburn and TCU.

Senior
Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) also led the Gators with a score of 69
(-3) after making three birdies, two bogeys and an eagle on hole four.

“We
had great play out of Phillip and Bank,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “It
is a good sign for our team.”

Sophomore
Tyler McCumber (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) finished the day in a tie for 19th
after making birdies on holes five and eight, an eagle on hole 11, a double
bogey on 13 and bogey on 16.

Junior
Michael Furci (Sayville, N.Y.) concluded the day with a 78 and freshman Payne
Denman (Riverwatch, Tenn.) recorded an 82 in his Florida tournament debut.

“It
was an up and down day,” said Alexander. “Hopefully, Phillip and Bank can keep it
up and we can get ourselves back in this tournament.”

The
Gators will return to the course on Monday, Feb. 28 for round two at 8 a.m.